The Making of the Seven Seas Worldwide Promo

I'd made a number of videos for Seven Seas Worldwide before (they're all over this site). These videos all consist of me in a room at home talking about our many different relocation services, interspersed with crude cartoon drawings illustrating the points I'm making. It was very much a one-man operation: I wrote, starred in and edited these videos and I drew all the cartoons too. Response to these videos has been good. A couple of clients got in touch to tell me they were my biggest fans. Little did they know I don't have fans so their size was irrelevant.

Anyway, good though these videos were, I couldn't help thinking that with a bit of money and planning, we could go bigger and produce something universal, something enjoyed by people who had no need to watch a video about relocation and shipping but watched it anyway because a friend sent it to them and told them it was funny.

With that in mind, I did a bit of research and found some viral ad campaigns with humour at its core. After this period of YouTubery, I then went about writing a script - a short punchy introductory piece, layered with gags that will, pardon the cliché, inform and entertain. This was the first time I thought 'let's just write it and deal with the logistics later'. As soon as the script was finished and approved, I made a list of all the people, props and locations I would need to make it work. I also put a message out on Twitter asking for one actor and one actress to play 'helpers' in the video (I would be the presenter, the same character as the one in the other videos).

After a few weeks of preparation involving the procurement or creation of props (including the making of a cardboard ship using children's paints), working out the budget and visiting the Seven Seas Worldwide warehouse in Ashford (the location of the shoot) to do a 'recce', the day came to finally shoot the thing. My trusted friend and colleague, Anthony Carpendale, a very talented Brighton-based filmmaker, agreed to do the filming. My 'helpers' on the set, actors Steve Hansell and Francesca Fowler, answered my tweet and were consummate professionals throughout.

The day went amazingly well and because it comprised of long, unedited shots with Anthony following everything on his steadicam, the scenes flowed nicely and we were finished ahead of schedule. If I'm in charge of a shoot, I am adamant that we finish on time. Occasionally I get work as an actor myself and my biggest frustration is witnessing a crew mumble and tinker and discuss for hours on end about lighting and framing with nothing being achieved and the hours slipping away. It doesn't have to be like that. Sometimes you can just motor on and see what you get. And that's what we did. 

I was extremely pleased that I took this idea to my bosses and that I produced something out of my comfort zone. I think it's a funny little video and judging by the reactions on Twitter, a few thousand people enjoyed our endeavours too.

Now it's time to think about a sequel.